Cardiovascular, Nutrition, Vitamins
Magnesium: Protection from Undertakers
In 1979 Dr. David Chipperfield reported a finding in the British Medical Journal, Lancet. He had discovered that patients suffering from angina pain had low blood levels of magnesium. Equally important, he found that by prescribing this mineral, often referred to as “nature’s natural dilator”, the spasm of the coronary artery could be relieved, preventing a fatal heart attack and ultimately, the need to call an undertaker. Today, doctors are often asked, “Am I taking enough or too much calcium?” But in my days of practicing medicine, I can’t recall a single patient who asked me the same question about magnesium. It’s ironic because studies show that many North Americans are not obtaining sufficient amounts of this vital mineral. This can...Read More
Philosophy
Living Will: Make It a Legal Document
“Eureka!” Finally, in 2015, The Supreme Court of Canada has decided unanimously, what it should have passed years ago. It’s declared that doctor- assisted voluntary euthanasia (DAVE) isn’t an illegal act. But this ruling is already facing opposition from a variety of sources. The perfect solution is to make The Living Will a truly legal document that cannot be contested. It’s been said that war is too dangerous to be left to generals. In this case, the court’s decision is too important to be left to the whims of provincial politicians who have one year to draft new legislation. First, in the interest of humanity, politicians federal and provincial, should quickly draft legislation allowing those who are currently terminally ill to have...Read More
Cancer, Lifestyle, Sex
“Darling, Do I Have Permission to Have Sex With 20 Other Women?”
Hmmm… Why wasn’t this study done 70 years ago when I was young with an abundance of testosterone? This was my first reaction to a report in the journal, Cancer Epidemiology. But for the Don Juans of this world, this news is better late than never. I’m sure they will be ecstatic to learn that frequent sex can decrease the risk of prostate cancer. But what will their bride-to-be say? Marie-Elise Parent is Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Montreal. I have not met her, but she’s been affectionately called, for appropriate reasons, “Madame Prostate”. She also has my congratulations for her unique research. So what’s the good news for Romeos? The Montreal study questioned 3,208 men between 2005 and 2009...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Medicine, Vitamins
A Shocking Finding About Aspirin and Heart Attack
Aspirin has been called the “One Cent Miracle Drug” for good reason. It’s the most widely used medical remedy in the world and available for over a hundred years to treat headaches and other pains. Millions take it to decrease the risk of heart attack and more recently, cancer. But how effective is it? And what is the recent surprise finding? In January 2011, the journal, “The Lancet”, reported data from eight studies involving 25,570 people. It concluded that a daily Aspirin decreased total cancer deaths by 24 percent after five years of use. Moreover, after people stopped Aspirin, death rates were still 20 percent lower for 15 years, largely for cancers of the colon, esophagus and prostate. Researchers also discovered an...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition, Women's Health
Weight Gain Is Contagious? And Snacking Fights it?
How many people in mid-life can fit into their wedding clothes? Not too many, because predictably, most have exchanged muscle tissue for body fat and more pounds. Now, a report from Johns Hopkins University claims there are proven ways to limit and even reverse weight gain in both sexes. Women, as they start into menopause along with decreased activity, develop what’s been labelled the “Menopot”. With lowered estrogen, testosterone begins to transfer fat from the hips and other areas to the belly. It’s not just a cosmetic problem, but one that can increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems. The Women’s Healthy Lifestyle Project studied 535 women between the ages 44 to 55 for five years. One group received...Read More
Infection, Lifestyle, Medicine, Sex, Women's Health
“DILI” Is Killing More People Every Year
North Americans must rid themselves of a major misconception. Too much Cabernet Sauvignon is not the only way to damage the liver. Today liver injury is being caused by prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, and some herbal supplements. More than 1,000 drugs and supplements have been associated with drug induced liver injury (DILI) which is increasing every year. Everything we consume, with both good and toxic ingredients, are eventually filtered by the liver. This organ has great regenerative powers, but it is not indestructible. Moreover, advanced age and being a woman can decrease the liver’s ability to metabolize toxic products, resulting in DILI. For example, many people take Tylenol (acetaminophen). It’s an effective pain killer if label instructions are followed, but there’s...Read More
Nutrition, Vitamins
The Vitamin D Bandwagon: Is it Ahead of the Science?
Here are some of the 100 medical conditions that have been associated with decreased blood levels of vitamin D; arthritis, asthma, colon cancer, emphysema, dementia, depression, diabetes, coronary heart disease, fibromyalgia, hypertension, infections, multiple sclerosis, muscle weakness, obesity, Parkinson’s Disease and psoriasis. But how many of these links have been proven by scientific studies? A report from the University of California says most of them are the result of “observational studies”. This means that over a period of years patients have been followed to see whether low levels of vitamin D are associated with a particular disease. Many researchers now say the bandwagon of “associations” of vitamin D should be slowed down. The Institute of Medicine echoes this warning. It states the...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition
An Experiment that should get everyone’s Attention
Why would any sane person drink 10 cokes a day for one month? I recently asked George Prior, a Los Angeles resident and father of two children, this question. His straight-forward answer, “I want to increase the awareness of my children and the public about the dangers of sugar”. But how is Prior proving that all these colas are bad for your health? His experiment got my attention because I’ve stressed for years that soft drinks are a devil in disguise. The thing that bothered me was seeing obese children guzzling cans of liquid candy. Years ago I was having dinner with a former Minister of Health. During our conversation I mentioned that a 10 ounce cola drink contains eight teaspoons of...Read More
Miscellaneous
How Much Did You Learn in 2014?
Are these questions true or false? If you want to increase the chance of picking up an infection on a plane, ask for an aisle seat. A young woman who carried her cell phone in her bra developed a breast cancer that was the shape of her cell phone. Swedish researchers discovered that when they treated brain tissue of mice suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease with vitamin C, the amyloid plaques dissolved. A report in the Journal of the American Medical Association followed 1,774 heart attack patients. It found that there was only a 20 in 1,000,000 risk of a second heart attack during sex. DNA in the cell’s nucleus comes from both parents. But mitochondria are passed down by the mother and they determine whether...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Nutrition
Expert Says, “It’s The Worst Dirty Trick of Aging”
In 2014, how much progress did we make in the search for sound lifestyle? Many of us know it’s better to ask for low fat milk or eat more chicken than fatty meat. Some of us see the nutritional folly of soft drinks loaded with sugar, and that we should eat more fruits and vegetables. But a report in Nutrition Action Health Letter says some messages have not shown up on our radar. One - More of us now know obesity is associated with heart disease and diabetes. But many of us have not learned that extra pounds increase the risk of cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society claims 35 percent of malignancies are related to poor eating habits, inactivity and overweight....Read More
Gastroenterology
Take a Look Before You Flush the Toilet
Readers tell me they often discuss my column at dinner parties. But at this festive time of year I doubt that will happen with this column. Today, it’s Course 101 on Poop. So, why would you want to look into the toilet before flushing it? It could save your life. But it might also scare you half-to-death. A look into the bowl after a bowel movement has this advantage. Eventually, you learn that a normal stool is generally brown, usually the shape of a banana, and soft. This means you’re eating the right amount of fiber. Stools are about 75 percent water. And fiber, by holding onto water, makes stools as soft as toothpaste. But suppose the colour changes? A black tarry...Read More
Cancer, Heroin, Pain
Heroin for Addicts? Or Send Them to Northern Canada?
How would I react if I were dying of terminal cancer and none of the current painkillers could ease my agony? Or if I were suffering day after day the pain of crippling arthritis and no medication relieved my misery? And then I read that addicts were granted prescription heroin to treat their addiction. I’d be damn annoyed that this painkiller was available for addicts but not for cancer victims and others dying in pain. Several years ago I wrote that I’d send addicts to chop wood in Northern Canada. That would surely solve their addiction. I thought I’d receive a ton of mail calling me a “Hard-Hearted Hannah”. But the majority of readers were overwhelmingly in favour of this suggestion! Just...Read More
Eyes, Ears, Nose & Throat
Glaucoma: Could Low Blood Pressure be a Cause?
Three million North Americans suffer from glaucoma, the second leading cause of blindness in North America. Glaucoma has been called the “sneak thief of sight” as half the people with this disease do not know they have it. Now Dr. Patrick Quaid, Head of the Guelph Vision Therapy Centre, says that physicians treating hypertension must be cautious that blood pressure doesn’t get too low. Fluid is continually forced into the eye to nourish the lens and other structures. It normally dribbles out of the eye at a controlled rate through a narrow channel. But with increasing age the control valve of this channel has an increased chance of becoming plugged. This increases the pressure within the eyeball, squeezes blood vessels, and...Read More
Cardiovascular, Lifestyle, Medicine, Nutrition
Coenzyme Q10 Needed For 100 Trillion Cells
Heart failure is the fastest growing cause of heart disease in North America. What’s ironic is that the medication prescribed to prevent heart problems may in fact be causing weakened hearts and sapping energy from our 100 trillion cells. Today, with an aging population, old hearts, like old cars, can only travel so many miles before they wear out. But before this happens a car without gas comes to a sudden halt. Similarly, if the heart lacks coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), the gas that delivers energy to the heart’s muscle, it eventually develops congestive heart failure. For years doctors and the public have been told that cholesterol-lowering drugs (CLDs) are the be-all-and-end-all to prevent heart attack. But one vital point has not hit...Read More
Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Nutrition, Vitamins
EP = a2 Has Killed More People than E=mc2
It’s been said Einstein’s E=mc2 (energy=mass x C speed of light squared) is the world’s most important scientific equation. Unfortunately it created the atomic bomb that killed thousands in World War II. But I believe my equation EP = a2 (extra pounds = atherosclerosis squared) is the world’s important medical equation. Regrettably, it’s killing more millions every year than E=mc2.Think again if you believe this is exaggerated. Consider human obesity. Nothing, including the thousands of books on weight loss and diet, has been able to stop the epidemic of obesity which gets worse world-wide every year. Nor does anyone have the solution to the problem of increasing numbers of people developing Type 2 diabetes. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...Read More
Infection, Pain, Surgery
Appendicitis: It Strikes Kings and Us Mortals
Today, surgery for appendicitis takes a back seat to bypass surgery, knee and hip replacement. But every day in North America at least one person dies due to an attack of appendicitis. This week, an unusual case of appendicitis. And how did England nearly lose a King? A report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal tells the story of a 15 year old Philippine boy who immigrated to Canada at age 11. For four months he suffered every week from abdominal pain. Eventually, due to increased discomfort he was seen in emergency. Physical examination and blood studies were suggestive of acute appendicitis, and ultrasound revealed the organ was swollen. Laparoscopic surgery was performed, the ruptured appendix removed and the abscess drained. The...Read More
Cancer, Gastroenterology
How to Prevent Dying the Tough Way
Humans are inconsistent when it comes to preventing cancer. For instance, I have often written that mammography, a popular test, is an inefficient and deceptive procedure to prevent breast cancer. Yet millions of North Americans never get the one test that can save their lives, colonoscopy. Large bowel cancer is not a rare disease. Rather, it is the second leading cause of death in this country. But it does not have to end so many lives because colon malignancy does not develop overnight. Colon cancer normally starts after a soft fleshy-like polyp forms in the large bowel. The polyp can remain non-malignant for years, but it may also develop into one that kills. Studies show that, over the age of 50, one...Read More
Infection, Vitamins
How To Protect Your Family From Ebola Infection
If it wasn’t happening I wouldn’t believe it! But night after night I’ve seen Wolf Blitzer on CNN and Peter Mansbridge on CBC news talking about Ebola, interviewing infectious disease experts about it. Yet, to my knowledge, no one in medical circles nor in the media has discussed the fact that there’s a proven way to treat viral diseases successfully, such as Ebola. What astounds me is that intelligent people are totally ignorant of medical history. Their lack of knowledge has doomed Ebola victims in West Africa and may kill others if this disease hits North America with a vengeance. 64 years ago Dr. Frederick Klenner, a small town family doctor treated 60 polio patients with large doses of...Read More
Miscellaneous, Vitamins
Health Canada and CBC Television Distort Medical Facts
Do you remember the movie, “Network?” Howard Beale portrays the evening news anchor on national TV and he’s depressed about corruption, crime, unemployment and other societal ills. So angry he decides to speak his mind during the evening broadcast, to everyone’s surprise. Finally, after raving about injustices, he shouts, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”, repeatedly. Then Beale tells listeners to go to their windows and shout, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore.” This week, like Beale, I’m also mad as hell. Why? Because I was commissioned to do a 30 second commercial on CBC about a product I support. It’s a high combination of vitamin C and lysine...Read More
Lifestyle, Vitamins
Losing Keys May be a Stomach, not a Brain Problem
Do you suffer from a sore mouth, fatigue, anemia, constipation, loss of appetite, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, depression, confusion and poor memory? If so, a report from Tufts University School of Nutrition says there’s a possibility you may have a deficiency of vitamin B12 which is essential for neurological function. Moreover, recent studies show this is not just a Senior problem. If a lack of B12 is producing symptoms, the cause may lie in the stomach, not in the brain. As we age, the stomach’s lining becomes thinner and decreases its production of hydrochloric acid. This vitamin firmly attaches to a protein making it hard to pry it loose to allow absorption unless adequate amounts of hydrochloric...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Genetics, Miscellaneous, Nutrition, Pain, Vitamins
BioSil: A Natural Remedy Fights Arthritis and Osteoporosis
What brings millions of North Americans to their knees late in life? Today, with an aging population many people now end their lives in wheelchairs due to brittle bones (osteoporosis) or are crippled by the pain of osteoarthritis, the wear and tear type. Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease, is an inflammatory condition involving the destruction of cartilage. Its gel-like nature normally acts as a shock absorber. Without cartilage, bones rub on bones causing daily pain. Studies show that one in two people will develop osteoarthritis in their latter years, and two in three obese people will suffer from it at some time during their life. Now, studies done at the Netherlands Institute of Rheumatology and other European centers found that a natural remedy,...Read More
Cardiovascular, Nutrition
What’s Red and Protects Cardiovascular Health?
For years we've been told that the Mediterranean diet, full of vegetables, is the way to guard against heart attack and stroke. But George H.W. Bush, former president of the U.S., admitted he didn't like broccoli. And angry farmers dumped a load of it on the White House lawn. I share his view. So I'm grateful now that the red tomato is believed to be the main vegetable for decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. So what is the magic ingredient in tomatoes that fights heart attack and stroke? Researchers at Cambridge University say that the lycopene in red tomatoes keeps the endothelial lining of the human artery (the inner part) healthy, decreasing the risk of blockage. We all know what...Read More
Infection, Surgery
How to Stay Safe in Hospital
Luckily, I've only been admitted to hospital for surgery on two occasions. But when it happened I had serious concerns. The big one was, will I develop a complication during my hospital stay that I didn't have on arrival? So, what can be done to prevent this from occurring? First, I choose my surgeon like porcupines make love, very, very carefully. This choice can have a major impact on outcome. I realize the best of surgeons can encounter a problem that is largely "an act of God". But chances are slim that an unforeseen event will occur with a first class technical surgeon. So the surgery is the least of my worries. I know some may say, "Yes, but you have the...Read More
Alternate Treatments, Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Pain
Not All Lunatics Are in the Asylum
I'm often asked, "What have you learned as a medical journalist?" In one word "Plenty". After writing a column for 38 years you would have to be an imbecile not to learn something about medicine, human personality and hypocrisy. But above all else I've concluded that common sense is an uncommon commodity, and not all lunatics are in the asylum. Let's start with the Supreme Court of Canada. It's composed of legal experts who, having reached this exalted position, you'd expect to be the "crème de la crème" of this country. But how much horse sense do they possess about medical matters? How much understanding of their fellow men? And why are they so out-of-tune with the wishes of the populace? I'd bet...Read More
Lifestyle, Nutrition
From 1600 T0 400 Calories in 40,000 Years!
How can we help to improve the health care system in this country? Politicians and others continue to debate this issue. They always conclude that more money is the answer. But this approach is doomed to failure. How can it work when it's taken 40,000 years for humans to get into such horrible shape? How did it happen? And is there a solution? Dr. Barry Bogin is a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan. He says we all envision our Paleolithic ancestors as being short, bent- over people with small brains. Actually, they were a tad taller with brains as large as ours. And if alive today they would not require hospitalization for so much degenerative disease. Admittedly, most stone-age...Read More
